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(No Model.)

G. F. CHAPPBLL.

LETTER FILE. No. 379,049. Patented Mar. 6, 1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE F. OHAPPELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO LOUISA LAWRENCE, OF SAME PLACE.

LETTERHFILE.

lSIFZEIC'IIEICA'JJION forming part of Letters Patent No. 379.049, dated March 6, 1888.

Application iled September 1, 1887. Serial No. 248,497. (No model.)

T all whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. CHAPPELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident ofNew York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain lnew and useful Improvementsin Letter-Files,

hinged to vibrate, also to turn about their vertical axes, and also to slide both longitudinally and obliquely upon the board or tablet on which the files have been arranged.

My invention has for its main object to provide a simple, cheap, durable, and efficient letter-file; and to these main ends and objects consists in the features of construction and combinations of devices hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims. l

In the drawings which accompany this speciication and form a part thereof, Figure 1 is a top view of a letter-tile embodying my invention, the board upon which it is mounted being broken awayvto economize in space upon the sheet. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section thereof, taken at the line ma of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top view of a modification of my invention.

In the several views the same parts will be found designated by the sa me numerals of reference.

2 represents the base board or tablet, which may be of any desired shape, construction, or length. The puncturing or impaling wires are designated by the numeral 3 and the transferwires by the numeral 4.

Referring particularly-to Figs. 1 and 2 of the Said base-plate is formed or.

catch, l0, fastened to the bed-plate by screws 11, is adapted to hold the lever 9 in its closed position and the' transfer-wires in engagement with the impaling-wires. The lever 9 is preferably elongated, as at 12, to extend beyond the line of the wires when closed, and in practice I add enough t0 the length of the lever t0 extend it just over one of the side edges, 13, of the board. The object of thus lengthening the lever is to enable the same to be worked with greater facility and from a point remote from the wires, where the papers on tile are not apt to be in the way or interfere.

In operation the letters or other papers to be filed are placed upon wires 3, while the lever and the transfer-wires are swung rearwardly, as indicated by the dotted lines at Fig. 1. To close the file, either for the purpose of retaining the letters in place upon the wires 3 or to enable the removal of some letter below the top of the pile, the lever is vibrated forwardly into the position shown in full lines in Figs. l and 2, and the two sets of wires thus brought together or into alignment. If it be desired to displace any letter beneath the top, the letters above it are transferred to the wires 4, the lever with such transferred letters swung backwardly, and the desired letter then raised above the points of the impaling-wires, after which the file may be reclosed and the transferred letters shifted over on the impalingwires again.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 3, it will be observed that instead of employing the plate 5, a narrow cross-bar, 5r, is made use of, in which the impaling-wires 3 are secured. The lever 9, it will be observed, is bent, and is shorter in this instance, and is pivoted at 8 nearer the center of the board and upon the latter. So, also, it will be noticed that the catch l() is secured upon the board in lieu of upon a base-plate, as 5. The operationvof the file shown at Fig. 3 is substantially the same as that of the le shown at the other figures. So far as the main feature of my invention is concerned, the cross-bar 5m may be dispensed with and the impaling-wires secured to the board direct. lt will be understood, moreover, that in lieu of having the transfer-wires mounted upon the lever and movable, the punctur- IOO ing-Wires may be secured thereupon and the transfer-Wires arranged fixedly or im lnovably, the gist of my invention resting in having the movable Wires (Whether puncturing or transferring) secured upon a lever that is pivoted at one end cxteriorly ofthe wires and adapted to vibrate in a plane parallel with that oecupied by the board or tablet.

This improvement may be used in a file hav ing only one transfenwire and one puncturing-wire, as Well as in the duplex lle.

If deemed expedient or desirable, a step or catch similar to that marked l0, or of other construction, maybe employed to keep the lever in an open position when it is desired to have the Wires apart, as illustrated by the dotted lines at Figs. 1 and 3.

What I claim as new, Land desire te secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a letter-file, alever (having one or more wires affixed thereto) pivoted vertically at or near one end and adapted to vibrate in aplane parallel With the board or tablet.

2. In aletter-le, alever (having one or more Wires aiiixed thereto) pivoted vertically at or near one end to vibrate, as set forth, and provided at its other end with a handle or eXtension.

3. In a letter-file, the combination of a lever (having one or more Wires affixed thereto) pivoted vertically' at or near one end to vibrate, as set forth, and a catch or retaining device to keep said lever in its closed position.

4. In a letter-file, the combination of the base-plate 5, the duplex punetnring-Wires, the lever 9, pivoted vertically at or near one end beyond said wires to vibrate, as set forth, and having ailixed thereto the duplex transfer- Wires.

Signed at New York, in the county of New 4o York and State of New York, this 15th day of August, A. D. 1887.

GEORGE F. Cl-IAPPELL. \Vi tnesses:

SAMUEL P. BELL, ALBERT ASIIER. 

